Where to go for college???
Hello, I am a senior in high school needing to make my decision of where I choose to go to college. I am trying to break into investment banking on the mid-to-high level EB and BB banks and likely move to private equity after a few years, but am trying to choose the best college from the options I have in front of me (not in any particular order of preference, but just need help with what is best). Money is also not much of an issue according to my parents, since they are willing to help pay for most, if not all that is needed.
- University of Florida (heard a little about the MSF program).
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (seems to have an overall greater presence in IB on Wall Street than any of these, but I could be wrong).
- Ohio State (heard a little about Fisher Futures)
- Indiana University (the IBW is very appealing, but wasn't able to get much on how to get in).
- Penn State (World Campus, but plan to switch to on-campus when I can, and let's assume I cannot get into the Nittany Lion Fund).
- University of Miami (really only know of regional banks being recruited for)
- Waitlisted for NYU, and waiting on UC Berkeley and University of Georgia.
I know NYU and UC Berkeley are targets for IB, and if I get into either, I will definitely pick one from them (but I don't think I will, so we'll assume that too). And as for UGA, I've heard good things about the Corsair Society.
But really, I just want to know everyone's opinions on where I can/should go for college regarding breaking into a higher-end investment bank in NYC. I tried to dig through these forums trying to find the best one for me, but still can't pinpoint. I would greatly appreciate any comments, questions, and feedback regarding my situation. Thanks!
UIUC is a lock for Chicago recruiting. Rest of the schools you were accepted to aren't as strong or require membership in a very selective program/workshop to get looks from IBs. Best of luck.
Although I know Chicago is a city to work, it's definitely not as desirable as NYC from a lot of what I heard. But I feel that I am better than most in what I'm capable of in pure grit (I really hate to say that, but truly feel it's true) and would be willing to grind doing what I have to and beyond in order to get into these programs. Please add onto this with suggestions on what I need to do for programs such as the IBW and Fisher Futures. Thank you a ton!
Considering your list of schools, I’d argue you shouldn’t be picky with the city that you’d potentially end up in. All of these schools are non-targets (with exception of one/two low semi-targets) so working in Chicago is likely your best bet.
I really hate the AA programs that Florida high schools have because it really sets you up for failure. If you go to any in-state university then you will be screwed for IB recruiting because you're just going to be 18 years old, you're gonna ruin your college experience by just being there for two years, and no one really sees that as being impressive.
I know that I’m not really answering your question but my suggestion is to not graduate early. Pick up a second major and a minor or something. Age maturity will help you and graduating two years early doesn’t help. Recruiting will be weird and they will look at you differently if you tell them you’re actually a freshman but a junior by credits (they will cringe super hard).
UF MSF program is very good and places way better than people think. EVR, JPM, CS, MS, WB, WF, RBC and more.If you're serious about IB then MSF is the way to go. Assuming you have great SAT score, if you get involved in the program early you'll get in. Highly recommend
University of Miami is your best choice out of this list (not including your waitlisted schools like you mentioned). Normally US news ranking is pretty important, especially when it comes to the gap between say University of Florida (#28) and University of Miami (#55), but in this case schools like UF have gamed the ranking system to come out on top despite not necessarily having better job placements.
Miami has way more opportunities for underclassman (and overall) internships compared to Gainesville, and it's much easier to get a return offer from a SA gig than going through a full time recruiting cycle. A BB is much more likely to take you onboard if you have a good freshman/sophomore internship compared to a big state school with that many more students with your exact same degree.
I fundamentally disagree with this. Even though the US News rankings can be a crap shoot, UF has much better placement for internships than UM does (at a fraction of the cost of tuition). It’s not like Miami is a town known to even have good finance opportunities for freshman or sophomore internships.
No Cali school if you want to go to NYC. Even Stanford is hard
Any of those schools are fine. Especially Illinois for bang for buck.
I went to a school less than all these in terms of prestige.
Still got offered a $100k salary out of school. You’ll be okay buddy.
Hey man DM me about UF. Happy to chat and I think it’s your best option.
Also, enjoy the ride. You don't get this time of your life back.
Can PM me if you want to hear more about Kelley, got into IB from Kelley.
Also side note:You are aware that offers would already be out for your "junior internship" before you even start school? If you only have two years then you only have one summer to internship at a IB. So that means it would be SA23. By the time you start in August, a crap load of the banks would either be done or near complete with recruiting. So that means you would have to apply now. Of which you can't because you're not even a college student. And recruiting isn’t over then you plan on being able to prep and nail the interviews in less than 3 months? So I don't really know how this works in your favor.
Personally, I would take OSU over the others. Fisher Futures is a very solid program, and their other resources/clubs are high-level. Have a buddy that goes there and he has older friends going to JPM, Houlihan, etc. It also seems to have a lot of positive momentum recently in terms of placement.
Surprised more people aren't pushing for Kelly, think it places really well at a lot of banks (at least in NYC). A high-tier semi target. Would then go UIUC, Penn State, not sure on the others
Good on you for deciding on this so early. I didn't decide on breaking into investment banking until halfway through my junior year. Still have no idea how I even landed a job. (UVA)
Recent UF grad — happy to chat about it whenever. Shoot me a DM
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